Sometimes in the middle of the night he wakes with excruciating seizures in his legs. Marty Leewright tries to walk off the searing pain. But deadly poisons left in his body from Agent Orange are slowly killing him. He served in the Army in Vietnam.

The Fort Worth lawyer is a sharper cookie than most. He can navigate a bureaucracy as well as anyone I know. But until he pulled his latest stunt, he was another lost soul of the VA, moving backward, in slow motion, as he tried to get medical treatment.

“I realized that it was all a horse and donkey show documented for the higher-ups in Washington, D.C.,” he says. “Once again, I felt betrayed by my own government and once again abandoned as a Vietnam Agent Orange combat veteran.”

More like him

After he got a runaround, Leewright’s lawyer skills kicked in. He asked himself, what else could he do?

The Watchdog shares his tactic with the hope that other vets who contacted me can do the same. They reached out after reading my story of lost-soul vet Rickey Staves. Staves finally got his VA appeal. Turns out two key pages from his medical record that proved his case had gone missing — but fortunately were found again, just in time.

I hear you, Raymond D. (The Watchdog is withholding last names to protect medical privacy.) Like Leewright, you were exposed to dangerous chemicals, but your appeals were denied. You’re stuck in a backlog.

Dan H., you submitted three claims for hearing loss from your Iraq War service. So far without success.

Chris T., you’re told that a decision in your case could come in two years. Ridiculous.

Mark C., they said you no longer qualify for a VA physical.

David G., you owe the government money for VA compensation offset by military pay. You can’t find help. You’re close to homeless.

Karen R., your records showing your injury are lost. You can only hope they find them.

“The Department of Veterans Affairs is committed to providing all eligible veterans, service members and survivors with their earned care and benefits,” he tells The Watchdog. (He offered to research Leewright’s case for me if the lawyer would sign a privacy waiver. Leewright declined.)

Lawyer’s move

Let me share how a few weeks ago lawyer Leewright handled his problem.

“I wrote to the president of the United States, and I copied the secretary of veterans affairs,” he says.

“Then boy, things started happening, I mean, within five or six days. I’ve had more appointments and examinations in the last three weeks than I had in the last three years.”

One worker at the VA pulled up his file and told him, “This came from the president’s office and also the secretary of the VA.”

Leewright says, “The VA is like an insurance company today. They are looking at any reason they can come up with to deny your claims.”

So go over their heads.

One more way

The Watchdog also heard from Jake Ellzey, a former U.S. Navy pilot who flies for Southwest Airlines. Ellzey is the volunteer member representing North Texas on the Texas Veterans Commission.

The TVC has something of an identity crisis. The commission has a $26 million annual budget, but its advertising budget is zero, Ellzey says.

TVC helps vets get VA benefits. But not everyone knows. Even the commission’s own brochure explains, “Many do not know help is available.”

So, let me introduce you to the Texas Veterans Commission.

“We advocate for Texas vets when dealing with the VA as well, and that’s particularly rewarding,” Ellzey tells me in an introductory phone call. “Our biggest joy is getting claims taken care of for disabled vets. Most folks don’t know how to do it.”

Joy. Not a word often associated with the VA.

“The commission will help any veteran that comes to them,” he says. “All of us know how hard it is to work with the VA. I’m not going to say it’s broken. They do a lot of good work, but it’s a federal bureaucracy at its core.”

Last year, the commission worked with 200,000 vets and helped bring $3.5 billion in disability claims back to the state, officials said.

I’ve shared some simple ideas about how lost souls of the VA can be found. Here’s hoping they work for more lost souls.